Commentary on A quatre prisonniers

by Geoffrey Barto ofgbarto.com

The sons in questions are indeed those of Victor Hugo -
Charles and François-Victor. The two, along with Auguste
Vacquerie and Paul Meurice, edited a magazine, l'Evénement,
and one by one the four had run afoul of Napoleon III's regime,
the two Hugos and Meurice for articles they had run, Vacquerie
for attempting to relaunch the magazine after it had been ordered
closed.

The opening two strophes condemn the judicial system that has
sentenced the four and assures that they are in the right. The
third strophe refers to the offending articles - one questioning
limits on the applications of the laws on asylum, the other
criticizing the handling of the execution of Montcharmont and
capital punishment in general. The final two strophes offer
consolation to the four, comparing their suffering to that of
Christ and assuring that whatever they suffer will be recompensed
in the heavens. (The information above is drawn largely from
Matthew Josephson's biography of Victor Hugo and Pierre Albouy's
notes in the Tome II of the Pléiade edition of Hugo's poetry.)

A quatre prisonniers, like the passion,
subverts the temporal order. In this courtroom, the condemned
bask in righteous glory while a low, foul, cold caricature of
justice has its ugly nature laid bare to the view of God. The
four have been judged - perversely; those who judge them will in
turn be judged - legitimately - and found wanting. And those who
suffer the indignities of a petty tyrant will see their name
crowned in glory.

The titles of the books in Les Châtiments provide a
sarcastic commentary on the different aspects of Napoleon III's
rise. This particular poem comes from La religion est
glorifiée, which tells us that this poem is not about
justice, but about Judgment - the ultimate Justice with a very
capital J. In Hugo's view, the little Napoleon is not merely a an
arrogant dictator; he is a subverter of truth that the visionary
Hugo detests for leading France away from its proper path to
greater glory. This poem shows the extent of his fury.